Barry M's Space

new pastures

2011-11-08T22:40:00.001+02:00

This is my first post on this site for quit a while. The reason is simple. Having been diagnosed with pancreas cancer some months ago my orientation changed. To support my new status, I created a new blog. 4 minute expressions. The format is almost but not quite that of a personal journal. It is a record of my journey through these rough and unpredictable times. I am just beginning to

2011-09-17T22:54:00.003+02:00

The roots of the organic food industry were sewn in the late 1960s with the dawn of a new wave of environmental awareness. The industry has since shown astonishing growth that has surprised its critics. According to the Organic Food: Global Industry Guide published in February 2009, the industry has a global value of $52 billion with a forecast to reach $83.1 billion by 2013. The growth in

Chemo

2011-09-11T19:20:00.001+02:00

The treatment room is a room full of large black reclining chairs. On one wall is a large TV, always turned on, not always audible. The wall to the right of theTV has a window that faces onto an attractive garden. Once you have seen the doctor, you select your seat and wait for the nurses. The mixture is prepared by the pharmacist. I don't have a port. A port is a semi-permanent arrangement

A glimmer of hope

2011-08-09T14:12:00.000+02:00

The Cancer post was written just over a month ago. Since then treatment has started. Apart from the treatment, I have encountered a lot of information about people making full recoveries from cancer. The first glimmer of hope came about as a result of the chemotherapy. Apart from a feeling of total fatigue on day three, the side effects were minimal. More importantly, after only one treatment I

CANCER

2011-08-07T10:28:00.000+02:00

Everything was just fin on the morning of 1 June. It was my first day at a new job with one of the few companies that I would want to work. The company had planned three days of induction and the first was a lot of fun. At about 10:00 p.m. I began to experience extreme pain in the upper abdomen. It was an enlarged spleen, possible with an infarction pressing against my left lung. The pain

Why can't we give peace a chance?

2011-05-14T17:05:00.000+02:00

In 1969 John Lennon released a song that became an anthem of the peace movement. The song's lyrics simply point to the human need to give peace a chance. It was part of his contribution to the peace movement. In another song, John Lennon sings that "war is over if you want it". Forty two years later and there are wars on almost every continent. In every case it can be argued that there is

Twenty minute meals

2011-04-29T22:02:00.000+02:00

Many people shy away from cooking for themselves because cooking is thought to be a very time consuming business. But there are many ways to make good, healthy and delicious meals in no more than twenty minutes.One great meal that can be made in twenty minutes is stir-fry meat and vegetables with pasta or noodles. Any type of or Chinese noodles or pasta will do for this recipe. The process of

Pictures of a majestic Rough Collie

2011-04-28T14:06:00.000+02:00

Pablo is a Rough Collie. He is just over two years old. Rough Collies originate in Scotland. Pablo's colouring is known as Sable, and there are a number of variations. The coat has three layers. Many will recognise the famous Lassie in these pictures. Rough collies are very intelligent, have a wonderful nature and are very responsive to training. He understands a large number of words, phrases

Time

2011-04-27T15:22:00.000+02:00

The concept of time is one that encompases the very nature of the world and the universe. We measure time in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries and milleniums. But even without measurement, the world keeps on turning. The new replaces the old. That time is relative is not in question. On a different planet time may move more slowly. To G-d, a thousand years

The pros and cons of online dating

2011-04-26T20:15:00.000+02:00

The days when making use of a dating service or a 'lonely hearts club' carried a stigma are long gone. Online dating has become an accepted and popular option for men and women seeking partners or simply wishing to expand their social networks. As with all things in life, there are disadvantages associated with online dating, but these are outweighed by the advantages! Online dating provides a

Ten things every man should be able to do

2011-04-26T12:30:00.000+02:00

What makes a man a MAN?Much of this will depend on your perspective. Women often say that they want a man that is sensitive and caring and shares his emotions. In practice they often choose a man that is quite the opposite. Assertiveness, decisiveness and the ability to act are better criteria. Then the are the MCP types. They have rather different views.Here are two lists - pick the one that

Which came first - the chicken or the egg?

2011-04-25T14:53:00.003+02:00

While excavating a site in the Middle-East, an archaeologist came upon two perfectly preserved bodies. "I've found Adam and Eve," he exclaimed.How did he know, and what is the relevance to this story?The chicken and egg question is one of those imponderables to which there is no real answer. A chicken can only be born from a fertilised egg laid by an adult hen. So the egg precedes the chicken,

How to take better portraits

2011-04-25T14:49:00.000+02:00

Producing a natural looking portrait takes people and photographic skills. Not only must the photographer pay attention to the lighting but must make the subject at ease. Portrait photography often takes place in the controlled environment of a studio. Yet some of the greatest and most natural looking portraits are achieved when the subject is photographed in a more natural setting.Capturing a

Is text-messaging ruining real communication?

2011-04-15T23:12:00.000+02:00

Text messaging in itself cannot be held responsible for ruining real communication. But when text messaging becomes the exclusive means of communication, there is a problem. For some people, texting is the only way to talk! To make matters worse, many carry text messaging syntax into everything else. By its nature, text messaging demands some kind of shorthand or jargon to work effectively. It is

How small business can make the best use of cloud computing

2011-04-15T22:59:00.000+02:00

Computer network diagrams depict the Internet as a cloud. The cloud has become a metaphor for remotely hosted systems, storage and infrastructure that have become a reality with the growth of the Internet and broadband connections. More ...

How to prepare your house for Passover

2011-04-15T12:14:00.000+02:00

The eight day festival of Passover or Pesach begins on the 15th of Nissan in the northern hemisphere's spring. Stress and frantic activity herald the festival’s arrival as Jews the world over prepare their homes for a kosher Passover. more

Solar thermal power a viable alternative

2011-03-17T20:53:00.000+02:00

Thermal Tower power plantIt seems that many are unconvinced at the viability of renewable sources as a source of electricity to power South Africa. Many are still convinced that Nuclear energy provides the answer. Solar energy arrives on Earth in two forms - light and heat. Light is converted to electricity using photovoltaic panels. Solar heat or thermal power has been used for many years to

Technology in London of the late 1960s

2011-03-08T18:09:00.000+02:00

Swinging London: A Trunk Full of 60s ExoticaThe late 1960s was the era of flower power, hippies, the alternative society, folk music, free concerts in Hyde Park, Carnaby Street, Twiggy, the Beatles and the Stones, Pink Floyd and the best popular music ever. It was also the time that I arrived in London at the tender age of fifteen. Those were the days of pre-history in technology terms. There

Microsoft fails the customer service test

2011-03-08T18:05:00.000+02:00

After running a computer with a legal copy of Windows Vista Home Basic for three years, a message in large bold type suddenly appears on your screen. "Your copy of Windows is NOT GENUINE". This is what I was faced with just after 12:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. Windows Security Essentials highlighted the error, informing me that it would stop working within 30 days if the problem was not

Discovering what it takes to start a new business

2011-02-20T16:52:00.000+02:00

With my other work options seeming to fall away, I decided to embark on a new business venture. I had a number of choices. The first was a restaurant. I am passionate about food. I cook every day and produce results that beat most restaurants - at least those that I can afford to go to. The problem lies in the funding. Getting a restaurant started costs major money. That is money that I don't

The call centre is not central to customer service ...

2011-01-30T23:40:00.000+02:00

Fixing the call centre will fix the customer service problem in your business. Right? Wrong! Customer service is not about how well the call centre deals with your customers. Customer service begins long before the call centre gets involved. It ends long after the call centre has played its part. One of South Africa’s leading cellular networks has added a new dimension to its call centre.

Captain Beefheart is no more

2010-12-19T23:03:00.000+02:00

Captain Beeheart, also known as Don van Vliet (neither are his real name), has left us. I first discovered his music in the late sixties when I realised that this was something out of the ordinary. Beefheart was a talented painter that turned his mind to music. The genre may have been pop or rock, but Beefheart's musical efforts could have fallen within the avant garde of serious music or jazz

Penguins at Boulders Beach in South Africa

2010-12-16T22:35:00.000+02:00

And more penguins ... These are African Penguins that live and breed at the Boulders Beach in Simons Town on the Indian Ocean in South Africa. The Penguin sanctuary is part of the Table Mountain National Park. This Penguin Colony began in 1982 with a mere two breeding couples. Today there are over 3,000 of these remarkable birds.

Images of Cape Town

2010-12-15T22:26:00.000+02:00

48 Goud Street

2010-11-04T21:58:00.000+02:00

This building, known only as 48 Goud Street lies in down-town Johannesburg. The walls are merely a shell - the roof and the interior are gone, Looking through the windows reveals only rubble. Perhaps a place where vagrants, the homeless manage to find some shelter. The fact that the exterior walls remain, suggests that this may be a protected building. A quick Internet search revealed nothing, so